<p>Hey guys, right now I picked about 20 colleges that I want to apply to. My question is simple, is this too many! :) </p>
<p>If it is too many, how many should I narrow it down to? Please help!</p>
<p>you should try to narrow it down a little bit. youre probably not going to want to fill out 20 different apps, even if some do use the common app, and that would get pretty expensive applying to that many schools. you should try to get it down to at least 10. that would be a lot more reasonable than 20.</p>
<p>if you're willing to pay all of the application fees and write all of the essays etc..</p>
<p>Good points, just to let you know, I am willing to invest some money but I'm not sure if I can write all those essays. Can't you use your essays more than once for some colleges in the common app?</p>
<p>From anyone's experience can you suggest a maximum managable amount.</p>
<p>(Alot of my choices are BA/MD programs if that helps any)</p>
<p>If you're applying to 20, it probably means you haven't done a good job narrowing them down.</p>
<p>I think 10-12 should be the max. Even that's pushing it... I applied to 6.</p>
<p>I like 8 myself....
1 safety
3 match
4 reach</p>
<p>you can't possibly honestly want to go to 20 different schools. If that is the case then you simply haven't done your research. I cut from 15 'potential' schools to 8...</p>
<p>Holy schnikes!</p>
<p>Yes, 20 colleges is WAY too many. </p>
<p>Read these:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/apply/college-applications/21346.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/apply/college-applications/21346.html</a>
<a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/apply/narrow-college-list/150489.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/apply/narrow-college-list/150489.html</a></p>
<p>If you do a good job in researching what you truly want and find colleges that match what you want, you'd have a list of about 6-8.</p>
<p>The Finances involved are pretty high too: </p>
<p>Avg 75$ * 20= $1500</p>
<p>And alot of essays, I think I will apply to 8-10. It is a safe number and its not too many. Seeing as you have chosen 20, maybe 12 is a good number?</p>
<p>That sounds good, around 12 sounds great. </p>
<p>Also what are some good criteria to narrowing colleges down? My primary focus is just acceptance, because the colleges I'm applying to are fairly competitive (UPenn, Case, JHU) and quite a few BA/MD programs.</p>
<p>there are a ton of different ways to narrow it down. do you want to be in a rural, suburban, or urban area? how big do you want the student body to be? do you want big school spirit and/or division 1 sports? do you want certain activities or clubs at the school? those are just a few of the things you could use to narrow your list.</p>
<p>No, 12 does not sound great.</p>
<p>6-8, people! Honestly, why on earth would you apply to TWELVE colleges?</p>
<p>"If it is too many, how many should I narrow it down to? Please help!"</p>
<p>No worries! Everything is under control!</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=377931%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=377931</a> READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! </p>
<p>If you have 20 colleges on your list, it means that you haven't done a good enough job of finding what you truly want out of college. You need to find ways to differentiate colleges.</p>
<p>Also, take a look at Questions to Ask Students and Yourself. They're great questions that you should consider as you're researching colleges, and they may give you more ideas as to what you want in your college experience. N.B. It is very long, but very good.</p>
<p>Questions to Ask Students and Yourself</p>
<p>SIZE/LOCATION:
Is the overall size of the school right for my personality?
Is the location right? (Consider region, distance from major city, distance from home, weather)
Are class sizes right for my learning style and my need for involvement in my class?
Will I be comfortable with the setting of the campus? (rural, suburban, urban)
Is there a genuine sense of community?
Does the school feel claustrophobic?</p>
<p>STUDENT BODY: How would you characterize the majority of students?
Are they bookish nerds?
Are they warm fuzzy, and welcoming, or are they very independent?
Are they quirky? In what ways and to what extent?
Is there competition for grades, or is the emphasis on learning?
Are students generally involved in school activities?
Do students look more like they came out of a Goodwill sale rather than from a J. Crew catalog?
What is the drinking, the drug, and the sex scene?
What would students talk about in the dining hall?
How politically active are students?
Are there social cliques, which prevent personal social growth?
From what economic background are the majority of students?
How late would students typically stay up talking about academics?
Will the campus meet m religious and/or ethnic needs?</p>
<p>ACTIVITIES/SOCIAL SCENE:
What do students do for fun?
What's there to do in town? How do I get there? Do I need a car?
How often do people get out in the city?
Are there interesting guest speakers on campus?
Does the school have a cultural environment?
Are there opportunities for some off-campus or overseas programs?
What are parties like? What is the Greek scene? How often do students party?
Are there opportunities for undergraduate research?
Is it possible to get an internship or to have work experience during the school year or summer?
How safe is the campus?
Will I find activities that meet m interest?
What is the role of fraternities and sororities on campus? If I didn't want to join, could I have a satisfactory social life?</p>
<p>CAMPUS FACILITIES:
Are there resources to help ease me into a job? What about assistance with internships, interviews, and graduate school placement? How useful and accessible are they?
Is there easy access to the library? How often is it closed?
How does the school ease the transition from high school senior to college freshman? Are there freshman orientations?
How easy is it to get the classes I want?
Is housing guaranteed for all four years? Would it be a nice neighborhood to live in if I'm not guaranteed on-campus housing for all four years?
Are the food services suitable?
Are computer facilities readily available and are campus networking opportunities up-to-date?
Is the connection to the Internet adequate?
Do the people in the financial aid, housing, and other service offices seem attentive and genuinely interested in helping students?
Does the campus seem well maintained and managed?</p>
<p>ACADEMICS:
Does the college offer programs I want to study? Does the college offer people and classes that will help me decide what I want to study?
Do professors teach, or do TA's? How accessible are professors, TA's, and tutors?
What are the major styles of teaching? Discussion, seminar, lecture?
Will the college push me academically, but not shove me?
Do the best professors teach undergraduate courses?
Can I change majors easily if I have to?
Do students say the majority of classes are taught by fun, stimulating, and interesting professors?
Is there close student-faculty and student-student interaction? How often do students talk about academics?
Do people just take notes, go to dorm, and study and do their own thing, or is the school warm and fuzzy with lots of intellectual discussion?
Does the honor code work? How widespread is cheating?
How much free time do students have?
Does everyone do some major senior project as a capstone of his college experience?</p>
<p>EXTRA THINGS:
What are the chief gripes of people around here?
Does the faculty advising system really work?
Is the campus residential or commuter? How many people leave campus on weekends?
Is there a good balance of academics, social life, and extracurricular activities?
What is distinctive about education here?
Are students genuinely enthusiastic about their classes?
Has the student government made any real contribution to the school?
What political, social, or academic issues concerned students last year? How did the administration react? What was the resolution?</p>
<p>THE FIVE MOST CRITICAL QUESTIONS:
Is there a good chance I will be academically successful here?
Will I be happy as a student here?
Do I seem compatible with the student population? Do they seem to enjoy what I enjoy?
Does the student life seem in sync with my personality and my goals?
Is the student life what I'm looking for in a college?
Does the college feel right for me?</p>
<p>What's wrong with applying to many schools and then using the above criteria to pick a school after you know which ones you've been accepted to?</p>
<p>because if you apply to 20 schools, its probably going to cost you more than $1000, and i doubt anybody wants to pay that much.</p>
<p>yes .</p>
<p>jackberm: </p>
<p>"What's wrong with applying to many schools and then using the above criteria to pick a school after you know which ones you've been accepted to?"</p>
<p>Well, it's going to be harder to do a great job of applying to 20 schools than to do a great job of applying to 6 schools. </p>
<p>Also, if you really know what you want in a school, your list of ideal colleges should not be up to 20.</p>
<p>I'd rather know what 6 colleges I want to go to, get into them all, and decide from there than to apply to 20 colleges, get accepted into all 20, and then decide. </p>
<p>You save time, you save money, you'll do a better job on the applications, and ultimately you'll only be picking one school.</p>
<p>I'm going to apply to:
3 Safeties (You can never have too many safeties)
3 - 4 Matches
3 Reach
This gives me good flexibility.</p>
<p>2 safety
2 match
5 reach</p>
<p>honestly i'd be happy at any of the 9</p>
<p>For some people applying to that amount of colleges is good.</p>
<p>But now with college admissions getting more screwed up, its acceptable to apply to 20. I Dont think you realize that its not just which schools you 'want' to go to, but which you'll be able to go to, since now theres no such thing as a "safety".</p>
<p>Would suck if you got rejected from all those 8 colleges wouldnt it? Thats why its far safer to apply to 15 or so. No point in limiting your future and screwing yourself just to save a few days of work and a few meaningless dollars.</p>
<p>Apply to all of them if you want to and think you can</p>
<p>One of the reasons why colleges are getting so hard to get into now is that too many people apply to too many schools that they don't really care about. If you're getting into a school that you don't care about and that you don't want to go to, you're taking a spot away from somebody who deserves to go to that school and who actually wants to go to that school.</p>
<p>I'd say 2 reach schools, 2 matches, and 2 safeties. I would work hard on getting into those and then have a choice of 6 rather than apply to 15 and get accepted to only a few because you'll be swamped with work.</p>
<p>I mean, only apply to colleges that you'd want to go to. And I'm sure that there are plenty of colleges on your list that you actually don't want to go to. You just don't know because you haven't done enough research. What's your list?</p>
<p>I'm applying to 5 schools
3 safety
1 match
1 reach?</p>